Poison and Blood
by JarJarTheSith
Summary: Hazel Hawthorne is a pure blood witch from a prestigious family, and a long line of Slytherins. She has promising abilities, despite being uncharacteristically kind for a Slytherin. Torn between her longest friend, Draco, and heart-throb, Cedric, her whole life will fall apart with the events that take place during the Triwizard Tournament.
1. Preface

Hazel was standing on Platform Nine and Three Quarters ready to embark on her first day of school when she first met Draco Malfoy. Her first memory of him was the scowl on his face as his father, Lucius Malfoy, pointed out which children were 'mud bloods'. Draco and Hazel were told not to talk to those children.

"Don't bring yourself down, Miss Hawthorne. Remember your blood line." Lucius had said, turning his nose up.

Hazel thought he was quite pompous, if she was being honest. Of course she hadn't actually met a witch or wizard who had non-magic parents, but she didn't think they could be too different from herself.

She had never met the Malfoy's before either, but she had certainly heard the name throughout her household growing up. Her father, Hiram Hawthorne, and Lucius were the best of friends during their time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Lucius was not unlike her father. In fact she could see why they had such a strong friendship. They even had the same expression on their faces, it radiated superiority. Draco was much the same, but perhaps slightly less superior, as she had seen his face soften several times when his father would take his eyes away from him. She thought maybe he wasn't so bad, and she decided she would sit with him on the train, as her father had instructed.

Although it wasn't as if she had a choice, she had to do as her father said. He wasn't the type of man you could disobey without consequence. And the consequences were always awful.

He was a stern man with long raven hair and eyes so dark they were almost black. His cheek bones stuck out, and he had deep frown lines creased into his pale forehead.

Hazel didn't look much like her father.

Her hair was raven and her eyes were dark, but her face looked entirely different. Her cheeks were full and her eyes seemed to be permanently furrowed, as if she were sad. Puppy dog eyes, as her mother had called them. She didn't look much like her mother either.

Mabel Hawthorne was fair haired and tall, her face was thin and so was her long nose. She was attractive, but she looked mean, with a personality to match.

Sometimes Hazel felt sure that she could have been switched at birth, had she not been born in her own home, under the protection of her entire family. Her family were very powerful, after all.

But that didn't stop Hazel from day-dreaming about the idea of belonging to a different family. She wouldn't have minded who they were, as long as they were kind.

Her childhood had been filled with memories of cruel punishments enforced by her mother, under the watchful eye of her father. They pushed her to think with her head instead of her heart, but that just wasn't the sort of person she was. She felt everything, and more often than not, she acted on emotion.

This drove her father mad.

Though no matter how weak minded she was in her father's eyes, neither of her parents could deny how powerful her magical abilities were. They learned when Hazel was a very young age that she could do impressive things when she was upset or angry.

She was only three years old when she had lit a table cloth on fire out of anger, when she had been pinched by her cousin, Pansy.

The Malfoy's were seemingly impressed by Hazel's promising powers, and pushed the idea on their son, Draco, that the two would make good friends.

They were right.

As it turned out sitting on the train with Draco that day wasn't so bad. She had thought he was quite funny, and he asked her plenty of questions about her life. Hazel was shy, but Draco thought it was endearing, and tried his best to make her smile.

They were both sorted into Slytherin and they soon became close friends.

However some time after their first day at Hogwarts their friendship had altered.

Hazel had made other friends, and Draco didn't like them. He was jealous, but he would never admit it. He'd grown an interest in her that was deeper than the friendship they'd shared. Hazel was blissfully oblivious. She cared about Draco, but she'd never entertained the idea of anything romantic between them, as much as her father would be delighted at that thought.

Draco's jealousy made him angry, and he would scold her often. He pushed her to spend more time with Pansy and their other friends in Slytherin, but she didn't feel like she fit in. She never particularly liked Pansy, even though they were cousins, because Pansy always seemed to enjoy upsetting her.

Pansy was mean spirited and envied the fact that the Malfoy's thought so highly of Hazel. She also fancied Draco, but he never noticed, as most of the time he was too busy sticking his nose into Hazel's business and taunting Harry Potter.

Hazel didn't like the other Slytherin's either. They all seemed to find Draco's mean streak amusing, and flocked to him as if he were some type of hero. Though she loved Draco and thought very highly of him, he wasn't the type of person she would idolise.

Cedric Diggory, however, was reason to swoon in her eyes. Cedric was a close friend and somebody she deeply admired. It was no secret she was head-over-heels for him, and he enjoyed the attention. They had first met in the library in Hazel's second year. Cedric was in his fourth year, and very popular amongst his peers. She had already known who he was when he spoke to her.

She had ventured into the library that day to read about quidditch after learning Draco had earned himself a place on the quidditch team. She was embarrassed to admit she had never seen a single match before, let alone known any of the rules.

Cedric was sitting a few seats away from Hazel when he noticed her and the copy of "Quidditch Through the Ages" in her hands. He promptly moved beside her and leaned into her ear to question her interest in quidditch. His eyes were bright and shining, and Hazel's heart leapt into her throat at the sight of him.

Like Draco, Cedric found her shy personality endearing, and quickly took her under his wing. After only a few minutes into their first conversation he had invited her to watch his quidditch training that afternoon, and she found herself completely smitten from that day forward.

He made it clear to her that he wouldn't date her until she was older, despite the fact that he would flirt with her at every opportunity he got. This only made her want him more.

Hazel had also befriended Cedric's other friends, and became very close with a girl named Poppy Henley. Poppy was in Hufflepuff with Cedric and was insanely smart. She was kind-hearted and loyal, but wouldn't hesitate to confront anyone who tried to hurt her friends. She was especially protective of Hazel. Not only because Hazel was younger than her, but because Hazel could be perceived as a little naive. The two became fast friends shortly after Cedric brought Hazel into the group.

Hazel wondered over summer if things would change now that she was entering her fourth year at school. She hoped Draco would miraculously lose his mean streak, or at least warm to the idea of her having other friends. She had seen him several times during the break, but Draco was much different outside of school. He seemed to care less about what anybody thought of him. And neither of the two mentioned school or Draco's least favourite topic - Cedric Diggory. She wanted him to like Cedric because they were both very important to her, but she wasn't sure that was ever likely to happen.

She felt like she had matured a lot over the summer. She had a lot of free time to read and learn new things. She hoped that Cedric would finally ask her to be his girlfriend when he saw how she'd altered during the break.

But she had no idea of the horror she was about to face in the year ahead of her.


	2. Chapter One

The Quidditch World Cup brought out hoards of witches and wizards from all over the globe.

This was incredibly exciting for some. Cedric for example, had been anxiously waiting all summer break for this moment. He had sent half a dozen owls to Hazel over the course of the summer and he never failed to mention his excitement for the Quidditch World Cup in a single letter.

Hazel had written responses with faux excitement. It had been two years since she had first attended a Quidditch match, but she hadn't grown any fonder of the sport. Of course she enjoyed it when her friends were on the pitch, but the idea of watching Ireland vs. Bulgaria didn't interest her in the slightest.

Perhaps she would have been excited to attend the match had her parents let her to go with Cedric and his father, Amos.

Cedric had invited her, but knew she couldn't go with him.

The Malfoy family had invited Hazel months in advance, and she certainly could not make plans to ditch the Malfoy's in favour of a school friend.

Although it wasn't all bad, at least Draco would be there to keep her company.

"Hazel, pull your hair back off your face! Nobody can see your eyes if you hide them behind all that hair." Mabel fussed as she grabbed a large chunk of black hair hanging messily across Hazel's forehead.

Hazel liked her fringe, but she supposed it did make her look two years younger. So she sighed in response to her mother, and pinned her hair back.

She stared at her reflection and blinked heavily.

"You're so lucky you have your father's eyelashes." Mabel said, and Hazel thought it may have been the first time she had come close to a compliment from her mother.

"Now put your makeup on, you want to look good."

Mabel left her daughter and went back to whatever it was she had been doing before she decided to check on her. She spent most of her time out of the house, so it was an unusual occurrence that she would spend any time with Hazel.

Hiram also spent a lot of his time out of the house, as he was a very busy business man. Hazel had no idea what business he was in, he never specifically told her, but she knew he was very important.

It seemed odd she hadn't just asked her father about his career, but truthfully they never spoke much at all. Most of their conversations involved Hiram giving orders to his daughter, or lecturing her about her future.

She never had any family members she felt comfortable having any type of deep conversation with, besides Petrie.

Petrie was a little old house-elf who had taken the duty of caring for Hazel since she was a baby. He had been with the Hawthorne family for many years, and took a shine to Hazel the moment she came into the world.

It was because of this, perhaps, that Hazel was so different from her parents. Petrie had a great influence on the person she had grown into. He taught her many things, magical and non magical, from simple charms, to learning how to use her manners.

After Mabel left Hazel alone with her thoughts, she had let her mind wander to Cedric. She was unsure if she would run into him at the World Cup, but she certainly hoped she would. Though she knew Draco would be displeased by this, her heart fluttered at the idea of seeing Cedric after being apart for so long over summer. She wanted to visit him, but if her parents found out they would have been furious as she hadn't yet introduced Cedric to her family.

Their exchanges via handwritten letters had mostly been deep and meaningful, and it kept her eagerly on edge waiting for the moment they could reunite.

She wondered if his hair was still the same, or if he had it cut. Then she thought about the idea of cutting her own hair. She thought maybe Cedric would be impressed if she altered her appearance.

She decided against it, but kept the idea in her mind for a later date.

After Hazel did as her mother requested - applying her makeup, and changing into the outfit she would be wearing for her arrival at Malfoy Manor - she sat at her dresser, skimming over the letters she had received over the summer.

The first was from Poppy, it was written on pink parchment.

_"Dearest Hazel,_

_I am having such an amazing summer! I've met someone, a handsome wizard in my town. He's visiting from Paris! Can you believe it? He often speaks in French to me, and it's sooo dreamy. However, this is just a fling. Don't forget my heart will forever lie with the Weasley twins. When I'm back at school I plan on making my move. On which twin? I do not know, who can tell the difference, anyway? **(Please for the love of Merlin, do not let your chum Draco read this!!!!) **Speaking of that little... prick (sorry he is a prick. I know he's your friend but you can't deny the truth) how is he? Still in love with you? Please don't tell me you will fall in love with him over the summer, you know your heart forever belongs to our beloved Cedric. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll ask you out this year. Very, very sure. I'm not saying anything else, but... just wait and see. Okay?_

_**Write back!!! **I don't care how busy you are hanging out with your elf (by the way, tell him I say hi!)._

_I'll be waiting for your response._

_Love, Poppy x"_

She smiled, and pulled out her quill to write to Poppy.

_"Poppy._

_I know I already wrote you too many letters, but I'm hoping this one gets to you ASAP._

_I'm going to the Quidditch World Cup with the Malfoy's tomorrow, so I'll be with them for quite some time over the next week and may not be able to write to you before the return to school. Do not send any owls to my house as I won't be here to receive your letters, and my nosy mother will surely open my mail! Oh, I'll be sitting with Draco on the train, you're welcome to join us, but I know you don't want to. So, I'll see you at Hogwarts._

_Hazel."_

At half past five Hazel travelled to the family home of the Malfoy's via floo network. This was a journey she'd made plenty of times before, and when she arrived in the large dining room of the lavish mansion she was shocked to see Draco was the only one waiting for her.

She couldn't remember a time when Lucius and Narcissa weren't standing behind their son, one hand on each shoulder, waiting for Hazel's arrival each time she had been invited into their home. But she figured she was now old enough to not need a grown-up waiting for her on the other end of her travels, so she was pleased by her realisation that it was only Draco waiting for her.

His eyes widened when he saw her, albeit he thought she was beautiful all the time, he was especially impressed by her appearance this evening. He hadn't seen her with her hair away from her face very often, and she was wearing a dress.

It was a black dress with short sleeves cropped just by her shoulders, and the hem sat just above her knee in a flowing manner.

Draco was blown away.

He only ever saw Hazel dressed like this for special occasions, such as Christmas Eve, when she'd spend the night with the Malfoy's. However his attention was usually stolen by the large gift wrapped in shiny paper and an array of ribbons she'd held in her hand each year. She always got him the best gifts.

This was different. There was no fantastically wrapped package to steal his attention, his eyes lay only on the black haired beauty in front of him. He almost forgot to blink as he stared at her face. He thought her skin looked smooth, like silk.

Her eyelashes were thick, and she peered up at him with the same furrowed look on her face that she always wore.

She felt insecure, perhaps it was because her face wasn't hidden behind her hair, Draco thought.

He stared at her without saying anything, until she stepped out of the fireplace and gave him an uneasy smile. Instantly he tore himself out of his thoughts to compose himself.

"Well hello, don't you look dashing this evening." He stated, holding his arm out for her to take hold of.

Draco was wearing a black button up shirt and black slacks.

The reason for their attire was the dinner Draco's mother had planned. It was imperative to dress formally for dinner at Malfoy Manor. The Malfoy family certainly didn't eat dinner in sweat pants and lounge wear.

Hazel only smiled at his comment, and looked him up and down. He looked the same as he always did, perfectly groomed, with his white-blonde hair slicked to one side and without a single blemish on his fair skin.

She took hold of his arm, and realised he smelled of peppermint.

She sniffed loudly and grinned, "Draco you smell really good."

He couldn't help but laugh, dropping his formal exterior as the pair walked arm in arm to the living room.

"Would you like a mint?" He asked, pleased she'd noticed the fragrance. He knew peppermint was her favourite.

The living room was vacant and looked fairly untouched. It was one of several living rooms in the mansion, used mainly for guests, rather than for the family to relax or spend quality time together. Being close to Draco meant she had seen every room in the house, and spent time in their less formal living room, playing wizards chess and lounging around.

Hazel nodded vigorously at the offer of her favourite sweet, and Draco pulled a peppermint from his pocket. He pulled the wrapper on each end to untwist it, and held it toward her mouth.

She laughed, trying to eat it from his hand, and he pulled it away from her, with his heart racing in his chest at the close proximity between them.

The closeness wasn't unusual, but it seemed to affect him much deeper as time moved on. Each time he saw Hazel his feelings had grown, and she remained utterly oblivious the entire time.

"I don't believe you used your manners, Miss Hawthorne." Draco spoke between laughs, trying his best to imitate his father's voice, knowing this would make her laugh.

She loved Lucius as if he were her own father, but Draco knew she found all the formalities a little excessive, as over the years she proved to be nothing alike to her own family. Of course in their presence she made the effort to speak correctly, but Draco would watch the bored look enter her features each time she had to subdue herself to the needless formalities.

His words made Hazel's whole face light up in amusement. He loved the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Mr Malfoy," she spoke, flashing her pearly white teeth toward him. "May I please..." she began, trying to eat it again but he pulled it away from her, laughing.

"Please, may I..."

He laughed moving it away again, his heart rapidly thumping his chest as he watched her in delight.

She would never get annoyed at him, no matter how much he teased her, because her heart was too good, in Draco's opinion. She had proved it to be true many times, as Draco wasn't easy to get along with at the best of times, yet she never strayed from him.

"Draco! Give me the peppermint, please," she pleaded, still grinning.

His body relaxed and she thought he was finally giving in. He sighed.

"Okay here," he moved it toward her, and as she opened her mouth he stopped.

He thought about how it would be the perfect opportunity to kiss her, had he been anybody else. He knew she saw him only as a friend, but he would never accept the finality of it. He thought perhaps one day, when they were many years older, he would be the man she would turn to, if only he could keep her away from Cedric Diggory.

He thought about giving in and placing the sweet into her mouth, but he was having too much fun playing around with her, he only wanted the situation to escalate. So instead of giving her the mint, he quickly popped it into his own mouth.

He saw her mouth move into an "O" shape, signalling her shock, but before she had the chance to scold him, his mother had beat her to it.

"Draco!" Narcissa yelled, making her presence known to the pair who thought they were still alone.

Narcissa walked into the living room from the other entryway, and held her hands on her hips.

"Go and put that in the bin, we are just about to eat. You know better than to spoil your appetite with sweets."

Hazel wanted to laugh at Draco and mutter the word "sucker" beneath her breath, but she knew Narcissa would not be impressed, so she said nothing as Draco quickly let go of her arm and apologised to his mother.

A short time later the Malfoy family and Hazel sat at a large dining table in the formal dining room.

"Dear Hazel, do tell me how your summer has been?" Lucius said with a grin, his eyes intently watching the young witch sitting beside his son at a table far too large for only one guest.

The table was arranged with antique china and silver cutlery. They had been served a large roast lamb with an array of roasted vegetables, and an old house-elf worked hard ensuring everybody had food on their plate and red wine in their glass.

Hazel didn't like wine, especially red, but Lucius insisted on bringing out this particular bottle, labelled under Malfoy Apothecary, at every possible opportunity, and reminded everybody at the table how it had matured for a thousand years.

"Well," Hazel began, thrilled to tell Lucius and Narcissa about everything she'd been up to. She hadn't seen them much over the break, as Draco had been at her house more often than she'd travelled to Malfoy Manor. She also felt excited to tell them about her break because she knew they would be interested in what she had to say, which is far more than she could say for her own parents.

She placed her fork down, knowing it would be rude to continue eating while speaking. "I did a lot of reading. Actually, I read the most fascinating book, it was all about the Peruvian Vipertooth," she noticed that everybody at the table was giving their full attention to her, and she suddenly began to get more excited about everything she was about to say. "Those are dragons, of course," she continued.

"Of course," Lucius agreed, grinning as he did so. He couldn't help feeling humoured by the topic.

"I love dragons," she smiled meekly. Her parents hated when she spoke about dragons, or any magical creature.

"You do have what most would consider, perhaps, a bizarre interest in magical creatures, don't you?" Lucius continued smiling.

Hazel was fond of magical creatures, although she wasn't planning to pursue a career down this path. She only chose Care of Magical Creatures as an elective as there wasn't many electives she was interested in. She enjoyed magical creatures and learning about them, but magizoology was certainly not a suitable career for her. Her parents would never allow it.

Draco watched his father proudly eyeing Hazel. If she had been anybody else he'd be extremely jealous about it, considering Lucius was rather stern on Draco, and didn't spend much time praising him. But because it was Hazel, he couldn't help but smile too. He knew the fact that Lucius was so fond of her was a good thing, it meant he would strongly approve of the pair of them forming a relationship. In fact, his father hinted it toward him often, in passing conversation.

"Oh yes," Hazel said proudly. "Professor Hagrid said I would make a great magizoologist one day, of course I don't plan on that though."

Draco snorted at the mention of Hagrid, and Lucius shot his son a disapproving glare.

"Well Hagrid certainly knows what he's talking about, despite whatever differences our family have with that great oaf of a man." Lucius sipped his wine proudly while speaking. "However, you need not worry about a career. You're a pure blood witch, Hazel, you are a fine choice for any respectable man to marry. You will make a good mother one day, and perhaps your husband will buy you whichever magical creatures your heart desires."

Draco's heart raced as he saw Hazel shift in her seat. He wondered what she was thinking, but he'd never press that topic. He didn't want her to become suspicious of his feelings toward her, they had been friends for too long for him to ruin their friendship now.

"Mr Malfoy, you're too kind." She responded, and for a brief moment her eyes landed on Draco, before picking up her wine glass.

He swallowed heavily and clenched his teeth.

This topic caught Hazel off-guard, as Narcissa decided to speak up finally. She had placed her fork down on the table, and focused her attention directly on Hazel.

"Now, the thing I've been dying to ask you - as your mother hasn't a clue on the topic apparently - boys." She began, her red lips curving into a deep smile. "Tell me dear, do you have any suitors pursuing you?"

Hazel wanted to laugh because it was such an uncomfortable moment. Lucius was staring at her with just as much attention, and she could even feel Draco's eyes on her. She knew Draco would be furious if she mentioned Cedric Diggory. It wouldn't make sense to mention him anyway, as he wasn't exactly a 'suitor', considering he wasn't showing any signs of wanting to take their relationship further than friendship any time soon.

Draco was holding his breath in anticipation of what Hazel's response would be. He was fairly certain she hadn't met anybody new, or had a relationship he didn't know about. He knew she liked Cedric, although she hadn't said it outright, he could see the way she became flustered when his name was mentioned, and the way she stared dreamily at him across the Great Hall during meal times, but the two were definitely not dating.

Hazel took another sip of her wine, and for a moment her gaze met Draco's again.

"Uh, well." She began, looking down at her hands. This was a topic she never really spoke about, although her mother told her countless times how she would one day marry a pure blood Wizard, Hazel never really had much to input in the matter. "No I do not have anyone pursuing me. I suppose I'm just waiting for that special someone to make their move, so to speak."

Her eyes met Draco's again when she said this, and his stomach churned in an array of butterflies. He thought she may have been hinting something toward him, but he couldn't be sure. Hazel was never entirely clear about her feelings, and even though he found it easy to read her, in this context he was completely ignorant.

"Well," Narcissa spoke with a ring to her voice, as if she were pleased with this revelation. "I'm sure you will soon be courted by a fine young wizard."

"Pure blood, of course." Lucius added, smiling obviously at his son.

Draco sunk down into his seat, trying to avoid the attention. Hazel only sent him another smile. She was either oblivious to the suggestion, or was considering what Lucius was implying. Draco was sure she was oblivious.

Hazel took a large sip of her wine, and went back to talking about her summer. Draco didn't say a word, but absorbed every piece of information he could as he listened to Hazel speak. He knew a lot of what she had done over the summer; she read books - lots of them - and she wrote down a list of things she wanted to achieve at school for the next year. The top of her list was learning how to cast a patronus. It was a hard spell, but Draco knew she could do it.

He listened to her talk about the trips she'd taken to Diagon Alley searching for ingredients for her potions. She liked creating her own potions. He had been the test subject of many in previous years.

"Tell me, which was the best potion you made?" Lucius asked.

"I made an invisibility potion." She smiled. "I'll need to perfect it back at school though, when I'm able to use my wand. So far it doesn't work on humans, only cats and house-elves."

"You turned your elf invisible?" Draco's eyes lit up at this, and he spoke for the first time since dinner began.

"Yes. Father was most furious to receive his tea being served by an invisible elf."

Lucius chortled, clapping his hands together in delight. This was one of very few times Draco had actually heard his father laugh out loud. "Marvellous! I can only imagine the look on Hiram's face."

Later that evening Hazel sat in her room at Malfoy Manor. It was actually one of many guest bedrooms, but this was the same room she had always stayed in. She had stayed so many times that she had left a supply of clothes in the cupboard. The Malfoy's had no problem with this, and encouraged her to stay as often as she wanted to. She had entertained the idea of moving into Malfoy Manor many times, but she knew her parents wouldn't allow it, despite not seeming to care for her at all.

Hazel was now wearing a black silk night shirt and a pair of matching shorts. Her hair was hanging over her face, the way she liked it, and she had washed her makeup off.

She was sitting on a shag rug, a small cauldron sitting in front of her and an array of ingredients sprawled across the floor. She had been making the same potion each night before bed since the beginning of summer break. She had made it to alter her dreams.

Hazel had been having nightmares for a long time, and as much as she'd grown tired of waking with a fright during the night, the reason she'd decided to brew the potion was because she had started to feel terrified to go to sleep.

Her dreams always started the same way, the were vague and hazy but Draco was there each time. Everything would turn dark, and she'd feel panicked. And then she knew Draco was hurt, but she couldn't find him. She would run through the darkness, screaming his name, until she was met with a flash of green light, and she'd wake up.

Hazel didn't believe she had any type of psychic ability, but she knew that having a reoccurring nightmare wasn't a good thing. Perhaps it was a sign of a bad omen, or maybe she was just worried about Draco because she cared about him so deeply. Whatever the reason, she couldn't stand the nightmares, and the potion seemed to help.

This was when there was a small knock at the door, and Draco entered without awaiting a response.

His eyes widened at the sight of her. He had seen her in her sleep wear before, but she seemed to be dressing differently now that she was getting older, she used to borrow his flannel pyjamas, which hung loosely from her small frame. Now her snow-white skin was on full display, her shorts were so short they didn't leave much to the imagination, and her shirt sat low on her chest. She wasn't particularly curvy, but her dainty figure was perfect in Draco's eyes.

When she looked up at him he tore his eyes from her chest, and smiled.

"Making a potion?"

She nodded, "come and smell this."

He sat beside her on the rug, his hand accidentally brushed her leg as he positioned himself beside her. He felt his heart hammering in his chest, and he tried to compose himself.

Hazel on the other hand, had no idea her appearance was making Draco nervous, and she placed her hand on his back patting him encouragingly.

"Smell it, come on."

He leaned forward and gave it a sniff.

"It smells like marshmallows," he said, confused. "What does it do?"

She grinned at him, her eyes shining brightly from behind her messy fringe. Draco desperately wanted to push her hair away from her face, but he didn't.

"Drink it, and find out."

He trusted her, he knew she wouldn't make him drink anything that could harm him and he knew she was very good at brewing potions. Professor Snape even praised her on almost a daily basis, which was unheard of at Hogwarts, as he hardly ever had a single nice thing to say about anyone.

He took a small vial from the floor and scooped the potion into it, and without hesitation he drank it. It tasted like marshmallows too.

Hazel started giggling to herself, and Draco frowned.

"Why are you laughing? What did I just drink?"

"I'm laughing because you just drank a potion without even knowing what it is. Draco, I could have just offered you a love potion and you drank it willingly."

He didn't know how to feel about her words. He was sure drinking a love potion couldn't enhance what he already felt, it seemed impossible, but of course he wasn't going to tell her that. But he wasn't sure why she had said it, was it a subtle hint, or just a casual joke?

He looked her in the eyes, and he couldn't read what she was thinking.

Her eyes softened and she grabbed his arm.

"Don't look so serious, Draco. I'm only joking! It's a potion called 'Sweet Dreams'."

He snapped out of his thoughts, and smiled.

"Like the name suggests, when you go to sleep tonight your mind will be filled with sweet dreams."

He thought that was so typically Hazel. People made all kinds of potions; potions to harm or injure others, potions to prank people, potions to achieve greatness. Yet Hazel spent her time brewing a potion to give herself sweet dreams. Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"Hazel, you really are something else."

She scrunched up her button nose, "mm thanks, I think."

Hazel took the vial from Draco and filled it again, this time she drank it.

"You know I started making this at the start of the summer. For months I had been having these awful dreams."

"Oh?" Draco asked, hoping she'd elaborate.

"Draco, I know your stance on Trelawny and divination in general. But do you think it's possible to see the future? Or have dreams that come true?" Hazel wasn't looking at Draco, her eyes were focused on her hands. She didn't like the topic because she wanted to forget the nightmares, and she knew Draco would find it silly.

But he took her by surprise with his response.

"I think if you're having nightmares you shouldn't be blocking them with a potion. You need to find out why you're having them, and face your fears." His voice was gentle, and he was staring intently at her face. "What is it your dreaming of, anyway? Spiders? Monsters?"

This was the much softer side of Draco that he only ever shared with Hazel.

She reached down and took hold of his hand, squeezing it tightly. Not only because he was being caring, but because her heart was hurting that she had had such awful dreams about him. She wouldn't tell him, after all, it wasn't as if dreams ever came true.

"Something like that," she murmured, resting her head against his shoulder with a sigh.

Moments like these made Draco forget that he felt nervous around Hazel, he felt comfortable with their closeness, and he thought maybe it was just her. There was something so gentle and calming about her, it seemed to melt away all of his fears.

The moment was shortly ruined when the sound of Lucius' voice was heard echoing down the hallway.

"Draco!" He called, knowing exactly where his son was. Although he didn't encourage his son to spend time in Hazel's bedroom after dark, he wasn't opposed to the chance that the pair could be getting closer.

"In here, Father."

Lucius soon appeared in the doorway, and smiled at the pair.

"Making potions, children?"

"It's nothing, Mr Malfoy, just something silly I created." Hazel stammered, quickly shoving the ingredients into her bag.

"Oh no, I'm sure it's not silly." He probed, moving into the room to have a closer look at the cauldron.

"Hazel's been having nightmares, she made a potion to have sweet dreams." Draco said with a smile, assuming Lucius would also find it amusing that Hazel had made such a potion.

But Lucius' face turned firm.

"Nightmares, you say?"

Hazel nodded.

He moved closer still, sniffing the fragrance emitting from the potion.

"This potion you've made, does it work?"

Hazel wasn't sure why he was so curious, and his demeanour seemed so odd. Usually his curiosity was more light and amused, in this moment he seemed intense.

Hazel nodded again, investigating his features. His eyebrows were furrowed, creasing his forehead, and his blue eyes were deep in thought.

Then his face softened.

"Well, what a wonderful witch you are, Hazel." He said finally, turning to Draco. "Come along Draco, time for bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

He turned to leave the room, before turning back to Hazel.

"I certainly hope you have sweet dreams tonight, Miss Hazel."

"Thank you, Mr Malfoy." She smiled in return, unsure of how his mood had changed so suddenly, but she assumed he was just interested in her potion and hadn't intended to act so strange.

Draco took hold of Hazel's hand, lifting her to her feet. He was much taller than her, which made him the perfect height for her to rest her head against his chest during an embrace.

He pulled her body into his arms, and she followed suit, resting her face against his chest as she had many times before.

She took a deep breath, allowing his scent to fill her nose. He smelled of coconut and vanilla, which she knew was the scent of the soap he kept in his bathroom. He gently rubbed his hand up and down her back, and for the first time in a while she felt calm about going to bed.

She didn't want Draco to leave, but she knew it was far too inappropriate to ask him to stay in her room for the night. It didn't seem such a big deal when they were younger, they had often shared a bed, but now they were teenagers and it seemed odd to share a bed with the opposite sex in a platonic manner.

And Hazel was certain things between her and Draco were platonic, even though she did enjoy the idea of having him spend the night with his arms wrapped tightly around her. She was just an affectionate person.

"I'm just down the hall if you need me," Draco said. "Wake me up if you have any nightmares, I don't mind."

She nodded, but she knew she wouldn't wake him. It seemed silly to be so afraid of a nightmare, even though Draco was being very understanding about it.

"Good night, Hazel." He said, stepping backward and staring at her for longer than he intended to. It was one of those times he wished it were appropriate to give her a parting kiss on the lips, but he'd never dare try it. Not now, at least.

"Good night."


End file.
